Opus Eponymous

Depending on your vantage point, these secretive Swedes' debut is terrifying, ludicrous, super catchy, or all three. For a Satanic satire of the pre-Vatican II high mass, it's short: 35 minutes. But from funeral parlor pipe organ intro to high-register acid rock crooning, it packs more indelible melodies than most metal bands' careers. "Ritual" and the fairly lovely "Satan Prayer" owe their souls to mid-'70s Blue Oyster Cult. But Ghost are as fond of doom-toned riffs as devil-defiled nuns, and by final rite "Genesis," they're stomping with what sounds like a Mellotron and acoustic guitar.